


just get along already

by orphan_account



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Comedy, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Slow Burn, Yes that is a tag, lance chucks a cushion at keith and keith is very keith about it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-18
Updated: 2016-06-19
Packaged: 2018-07-15 21:08:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7238548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The alternate title of this fic is 'teammates get couple counselling,' where Coran is a relationship-fixer aficionado.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Keith, put the cushion down

**Author's Note:**

> This is mostly implied or eventual (depending on whether i make this multiple chapters) keith/lance and most probably takes place after episode 4 'some assembly required'.

 

_"Ahem, good day paladins! This is Coran speaking through the castle's intercommunication system, and i'm delivering a very important message to you from yours truly! I have a new training practice which I have formulated recently, a practice which may be familiar to all you earth folk!_

_From our rigorous training exercises, I have realised that fighting side by side each other is not enough to deepen the bond that each of you share with one another, so in hopes of embellishing your relations, I have developed a new drill to refine your team relationships. I pray that you take part in my small operation with full courage and gusto. See you soon!"_

 

***

"Relationship counselling?" Hunk said, repeating after what Coran had just outlined for them. It was their new training exercise, apparently. Hunk was expecting something more along the lines of having the shit knocked out of them for what- the 5th? perhaps 6th time this week?

"Okay, I'm not very knowledgable on Altean culture, but relationship counselling on earth is driven towards _married_ couples, and well, none of us are married." This was Pidge, knowing when to chime in in the right moment. 

"I know that!" Coran replied, "But I have been researching your earth customs, trying to develop a newer method in your bonding techniques, and what better way to do that than by using your own traditions, especially one that supports our given situation." Coran said, he was the only one enthralled by this, where the other five shared an expression of confusion, blanketed with a subconscious look of ' _do we have to.'_ Allura remained on the side, looking remorseful towards the paladins but at heart thought Coran's idea was spectacular, in fact any idea to make the five of them get along better would be spectacular. 

Coran cleared his throat once more, and began, "From what i've analysed, these practices should be frequent. You'll get sessions with one another and all you have to do is just talk! Who knew talking could be _so_ generous to the soul? Of course, i'll be there monitoring as a 'counsellor' and asking deliberate questions and- oh Lance, don't look at me like that- this will be a tremendous exercise for all of you!" Coran finished, almost out of breath, and a little perspired. The bemused looks on their faces weren't a good sign, but he'd talked this idea through with Allura before, and in case a disagreement did appear, Allura had promised to bring up the 'death threats' strategy. 

Next followed a few brief ticks of silence; Shiro sighed; Lance's eyebrows furrowed as he crossed his arms, glaring at Keith and waiting for his opinion on the matter, so he could possibly go against it, _possibly_ ; Keith leaned against the castle's bridge monitor, sparing glances at Shiro and what he had to say to this, when Shiro finally spoke,

"Fine. Sounds like you put a lot of thought into this, Coran. It's very generous of you to consider our earth systems. I don't see why we can't give it a try."

"That's _exactly_ what I was thinking, Shiro. Glad we're on the same page, buddy." Lance bounced, clapping a hand on Shiro's shoulder. 

" _Of course_ you were, seeing as you're the one that needs actual counselling." Keith said under his breath, of course Lance was definitely not thinking anything on or close to the same wavelength as Shiro. Keith sighed. Sure, talking wasn't all that bad, Keith just wasn't good at it. He was fine with knowing that he wasn't a blabbermouth like Lance, thank the  _gods,_ but he wished he could be as great as a speaker as maybe Shiro. 

" _Oh,_ can it, Mullet." 

"Very well!" Coran interrupted, "We start this afternoon!" He waved his hands, turning on his heel and bringing up the computer dashboard revealing a timetable. "So, Keith and ... oh, would you look at that, Lance! My first clients!" 

***

Turns out that Coran's glorified trust exercise was actually a big deal, as Keith stood in the doorway of the small room- which Coran had gone out of his way to recreate into a counsel room. There was a sofa in the centre, and a desk opposite it, it even had a small name plate with  _'Advisor Coran'_ engraved on it, Coran was going the whole nine yards. There were minimalistic placards on the walls with words like;  _Respect, Empathy, Trust,_ written on them in big font. If Keith had actually gone to therapy as he was advised to in the Garrison, he was pretty sure this was what he would have expected. A smaller placard was set aside on the far wall, entitled ' _Consent'_ and Keith didn't know how to feel about that one. 

Keith didn't really know how to feel about  _all_ of this anyways. Was relationship counselling really going to sand all the edges with Lance? Did Shiro really think this was going to be worth their time? He could be in the training arena, staking some gladiators for all he knows, but he's here? Getting counselling?  _Sheesh._ Keith did suppose one thing was certain, his and Lance's small arguments during battles did slow the entire team down, and it sure wasn't helping keep Voltron intact, but that  _boy_ just didn't know when to shut up and do the right thing. 

 

Several ticks later, Coran and Lance materialised into the room, which only meant that their counselling was in session. Both Keith and Lance occupied opposite ends of the couch, with rather displeased looks on each others faces, if this wasn't enough of a cliché moment, Coran didn't know what was. He waited for any further remarks before starting, and was pleased to know that neither started biting each others ears off just yet. 

"Well, I suppose we'll keep the formalities for the real therapists and say that introductions aren't necessary. We all know what we're here for." Coran chuckled. "We'll start with basic questions, ones that I have generated directly from Earth's counselling databases!" 

"First things first then, how about you both describe each other in five words or less." Coran prompted. 

Lance's face gleamed, as he sat up straight, " _Ooh,_ I'll go first." Lance smirked, "Let's see, moody, anger management issues, cold, and probably an 80's hair enthusiast?" 

"That's more than five words." Keith spat. 

"So you admit i'm right on all of them?" Lance retorted. 

" _No-"_

"Hold on! We're not exchanging comments just yet, it is Keith's turn to answer the prompt." Coran recalled, as he had an uneasy look on his face, mostly from seeing Keith's fuming glare. 

Keith exhaled exasperatingly and answered, "Lance is obnoxious, arrogant, egotistical, and... easy." Keith gave a sly smile, glancing at Lance's reaction. 

" _Easy?_ What- what does  _that_ mean?" Lance mocked, tuning on his full attention. 

"Well, you know,  _easily-_ fooled,  _easily-_ deceived, you're an _easy_ target." 

" _Oh,_ i'll show you an easy target-" Lance scrunched up a nearby cushion in hand, throwing it in Keith's direction, which in turn collided with Keith's face, which in result held a fiery expression that looked like it could make Emperor Zarkon cry. Keith picked up the cushion just as fast as it had landed, and was about to strike when Coran bellowed. 

" _Stop it!_ This is  _exactly_ why I've formulated this exercise! For Lord Alfor's sake, Keith, put the cushion down!" Coran huffed, slamming a fist on his desk, he wasn't angry however a little disoriented. 

Keith dropped the cushion, slumping back into the sofa. Lance had won that round, he grinned, Keith was heated, he threw up an unruly finger at the other. 

"Hey! Can't you see it says  _respect_ on the walls, Keith, where's yours?" Lance tempted. 

"You threw a  _pillow_ at me, where's the-"

"Next promt! Boy are we moving along fast today!" Came Coran's voice again. "So, both your descriptions fell near on the negative side, but i'm sure we can work on that. Let's see, Lance, what do you think that Keith has to offer for the benefits of the team?" 

"Besides heartless commentary in dire situations? Uh, he's fast, I guess." Lance shrugged. "Combat skills? Geez, I don't know." There were other things that Lance did think about sometimes when it came to good qualities in Keith, like how he never knew when to quit. Sure that made their battles last twice as long, but man, he really did give it all. Of course, Lance wasn't going to say  _that,_ he didn't want to suck up to him, even if he did think that Keith was slightly better at- pretty much anything to do with combat, than him. 

Coran nodded, smiling at the genuine answer. "Keith?" 

Keith didn't say anything right away, mostly because he actually had to stop and think about Lance's good qualities.  _How does this idiot benefit our team?_ Keith thought. "Well, he's funny, more or less." He deadpanned. 

"That's it?!" Lance reemerged with energy, "Dude, I gave you combat skills!"This guy,  _this fucking guy_. 

"Well, it's not like you're that skilled with any specific weaponry! You're a leg!" Why was Keith making this worse. 

" _Oh?_ So legs can't specialise? Is that what you're getting at?" 

"No! I didn't say that, i'm just saying you don't exactly benefit the team with your combat skills, okay!"  _Well, shit, why did i say_ that  _for god's sake,_ Keith scolded himself for that one, he just wasn't good at saying the right thing at the right time. 

Lance huffed, an armada of comebacks ready to set sail on Keith territory, when Coran stood from his desk, waving his hands between the two of them. "Enough! That's enough for today! Both of you have definitely misunderstood this practice, greatly! I'm afraid if you can't mend your alliances right here, you'll never be able to strengthen it on the battlefield! You're both dismissed, oh my, I think i'm sprouting grey hairs!" 


	2. insecurities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith and Lance have another session, Lance can hold grudges, Keith is a lil confrontational, and space dad looks out for his space sons. 

The next day started off rough, the paladins still had regular training along with Coran's counselling sessions. Shiro and Pidge apparently had a great time in their session, and they couldn't stop laughing about it afterwards. This left Keith wondering where his and Lance's round went wrong- oh wait, it was Keith's miscommunication and Lance's abhorrence that left them with a bigger ice to break. Plus, training sucked, Keith couldn't concentrate. He lost two out of three matches with the gladiator; training with Shiro wasn't going so well either, Keith kept hitting too hard and losing his footing. 

"Are you okay?" Shiro stopped, "Because you've been kind of jumpy this whole morning, and you're striking too hard with your fists when you should be using your upper arms." He reasoned, as he removed the shield structure from in front of him, showing his concern.

Keith nodded his head, unresponsive vocally as he was most of the time with Shiro, he found that he didn't always need words to explain himself to him, Shiro just knew. 

"Well, did you make progress with Lance?" Shiro sounded hopeful, and  _damn, Lance,_ just when Keith thought he was getting him out of his head, there he was, prancing back. 

Keith averted his eyes, his mouth a thin line. It was blatant that no progress was achieved, of course, and he didn't want to talk about Lance either, he rarely got the pleasure of training with Shiro alone, and the last thing he wanted to do was talk about  _Lance._ So he tightened his gloves, adjusted his helmet, and got back into a fighting stance, "Go again." 

 

***

 

"So, Lance. What do you suppose is Keith's biggest shortcoming in terms of teamwork?" Coran's voice ringed through the silence, they were 20 minutes into their next session and things were going slow. Lance's usual snippy attitude wasn't making an appearance in today's session, and Keith was being Keith, so things were quiet. Coran wasn't pleased by this, something was lacking in his counselling, something was so offbeat when it came to these two, that it was becoming impossible to proceed without catching a sly eye roll from one, or an over-exaggerated yawn from the other. If anything, Coran wanted to know exactly what was clashing between them, so he can hit home right there and turn this relationship around, that and; there was another reason for Coran's persistence. 

Earlier today, Shiro had called Coran over for something important. He made Coran promise to him that he'd do whatever he could in his place to make progress between the paladins sitting dispiritedly across from him. Since well, both Shiro and Coran, and probably the entire universe knew that neither of them were going to get along without a little push, and since they couldn't always rely on danger to be that push- maybe something more intimate. So actually _talking_ to each other _about_ each other was going to do the trick. 

Oh, how the trick was failing, Coran realised.  

"Lance? Are you listening?" Coran chimed again. 

"Wait, I got this." Keith said, shuffling over and lightly smacking his hand behind the other boy's head. Lance shot up immediately, his daydreams fizzling and his full attention directed at Keith.  

" _What the hell?_ What?" Lance scoffed, leering at the other. He was a pro at getting smacked in places, he was aware, but when Keith did it, it just made it more annoying. The deal with Keith was, when Lance actually thought about it, which was a lot more frequently than he'd like to think, was that Lance didn't actually dislike the guy, he just hated the fact that Keith was literally good at- no,  _better_ at everything than Lance was. Keith was probably better at picking up  _girls_  than Lance, and where Lance had never seen that happen in action, it was still probably true. 

Coran was a little amused. "Uh, right on, Lance. I know we're all a bit drained today, but the question, son, the question!" 

"Right. Keith," Lance began, turning his posture towards the other boy, "Keith, Keith, Keith. You know, i'd say you have several...  _flaws,_ if you will, when it comes to teamwork, but considering you're always running off and doing your own thing during missions, it's hard to imagine you even know what teamwork is!" 

Keith's throat hitched, and his brows furrowed. He didn't immediately pounce at that personal kind of slam, because well, Lance was right about that, in a way. He really did run off sometimes, thinking he can prove his worth if he could just defeat that one drone by himself, if he could just save those people by himself. He was always trying to do everything by himself. He bit back a retort, there was some truth in what Lance said and he really didn't know what teamwork was, also, he knew that Lance was just trying to bite back some of the offence from what Keith had said yesterday. 

"What, you're not going to  _say_ anything to that?" Lance prompted, his voice grew temperamental. 

Keith averted his gaze, his own annoyance waning. "So you're still mad about yesterday." Keith stated. 

"I-" Lance stopped, pausing for a brief moment, his 'talk without thinking' process falling short on him, as he tried to formulate the right words. "Yes, I  _am_ still mad about yesterday. You basically called me useless- to my  _face!"_

Coran was, of course, overly intrigued by the stir in conversation, he didn't think they'd be getting to talk about their feelings until week _four!_

Keith huffed at that accusation, rising from his seat, "You're blaming  _me_ for your insecurities?" He stormed, as he zipped up from the couch, his body was rigid. There was no way Keith was  _not_ going to hammer through this dispute without putting in his two cents. 

"Don't talk to  _me_ about  _my_ insecurities, Prince Pouty." Lance shot back, bouncing forward. Coran's decision on intervening seemed distant, as he watched the argument unfold. 

" _Well!_ We're talking about them! You know you're right, I did mean what I said yesterday, you're combat skills are shitty,- and, you're not the best pilot either!  _But,_ the Blue Lion needs a paladin, and you're it, so-" Keith hesitated, "So... that's more than enough to benefit the team, without  _you_ we wouldn't be Voltron." 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel this chapter ended weirdly, or something. Also, i shouldn't write when i'm sleep deprived, i get emotional.


End file.
